JPH0122178B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a sheet feeding device, and more particularly to a bottom sheet feeding type sheet feeding device for properly setting a stack of a plurality of sheets of paper (simply referred to as sheets) in the device. Regarding.

Shingling devices for separating and feeding sheets are well known. For example, November 1961
One example is shown in US Pat. No. 3,008,709, awarded on the 14th. Such shingling devices have a variety of uses, but have traditionally been used to remove the top or bottom sheet from a stack of sheets by applying a vertical force. A typical bottom sheet shingling device is an IBM Technical
Disclosure Bulletin Vol. 21 No. 9, February 1979, p.3538, 3539 and 3540-3542, and 1979
No. 4,165,870, awarded Aug. 28, 2003.

When feeding sheets one by one from a sheet feeder to a typewriter platen, each sheet can be fed to a typewriter platen without the need for additional drives or feed rolls that can complicate the device. It would be convenient if possible. In bottom sheet feeders, precise positioning of the sheet stack with respect to its leading edge is necessary, particularly in the sheet feeder described herein, to prevent paper jams due to improperly set sheets.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a means for ensuring proper positioning of the sheet stack in a bottom sheet feeder.

Another object of the invention is to provide a cover, in conjunction with automatic sheet positioning means, which acts as a weight to the sheet stack and also serves as a separation member for the printed sheet, so as to facilitate removal of the printed sheet. It is to establish.

Referring now to the drawings, and in particular to FIG. 1, a typical single element typewriter 10 is illustrated having a sheet feeder 20 incorporating features of the present invention. As shown in the diagram, typewriter 1
0 includes a keyboard or similar 11, a platen 12, and a carrier (not shown) for printing symbols on a sheet wrapped around the platen 12 in the conventional manner, for example via a ribbon. Type element 1 moving along
Contains 3. In this example, typewriter 1
0 is connected to the platen 12 and the key button 1
step motor or similar 14 carrying out the indexing of the platen (and thus the sheet) either under operator operation by 5 or automatically by pre-programming or by means of a conventional carrier return key installed on the typewriter; Contains.

The sheet feeding device, including its simple electronics, is described in more detail in Japanese Patent Publication No. 60-1252. Sheet feeder 20 is adapted to receive a stack of sheets, remove a bottom sheet from the stack and apply it to a typewriter platen 12, and, if desired, receive printed sheets from the platen. . This involves first moving the bottom sheet of the stack, the lowest sheet, away from the typewriter platen by the shingler wheel, and when that sheet is detected, reversing the direction of the shingler wheel's movement. This is achieved by feeding the sheet between the nipping portions of the drive rolls. This drive roll is conveniently connected to the platen. Thereafter, as the platen rotates, the sheet is fed to the platen away from the sheet feeding device. Referring now to FIGS. 1-4, the sheet feeder includes upright sheets 30 spaced a sufficient distance apart to receive a stack 30 of sheets to which characters or other indicia are applied by typewriter 10. It includes a generally rectangular tray 21 having curved side walls 22 and 23. The tray includes a rear support portion 24 and a front support portion 25 spaced therefrom, the rear support portion 24 including a shelf portion and the front support portion 25 spaced apart therefrom.
includes a pair of laterally spaced protruding fingers 26 and 27. As best shown in FIG. 3, the front and rear support sections 25 and 24 project upwardly into a space 28 above the plane formed by connecting the rear support section 24 and the front support section 25. , a seat stack 30 supported by a rear support portion 24 and a front support portion 25 spaced apart so as to have an opening therebetween for receiving at least one singler wheel 29 . It is adapted to rest slightly cambered on a shingler wheel 29 midway between the ends (see FIG. 4).
The singler wheel 29 thus contacts the bottom sheet 30a of the sheet stack 30.

To remove the bottom sheet 30a from the stack 30 by rotating the singler wheel 29,
A drive means 31, for example a DC motor, is connected via a belt 32 to a pulley 33 mounted on a shaft 34 on which a singler wheel 29 is mounted. To reduce noise and vibration, the DC motor 31, shingler wheel 29 and other parts of the device are mounted on a shock mount 31a.

When the paper feed button 16 on the keyboard 11 (FIG. 1) of the typewriter is pressed, the DC motor 3 is moved to feed the bottom sheet 30a of the stack 30 away from the platen 12, that is, upward.
1 rotates the shingler wheel 29 (hereinafter the direction in which the sheet moves away from the platen will be referred to as upward, and the direction in which the sheet moves toward the platen will be referred to as downward).
The unwinding operation continues until the lowermost sheet 30a is pushed forward and its lower edge 30b falls off the fingers 26 and 27 of the front support section 25. This condition is detected by upper or top sensor 35 and causes a reversal of the direction of rotation of DC motor 31 and a reversal of the direction of rotation of singler wheel 29.

The sensor 35 detects the bottom sheet 3 of the paper.
After 0a is detected and the reversal of the motor drive 31 of the singler 29 occurs, the bottom sheet 30a that has fallen under the fingers 26 and 27 of the front support part 25 is placed under each finger 26 and 27. A driven roller 40 and an idler roller 40 attached to
sent between a. In this regard, part 25
includes downwardly offset camming surfaces on the underside of fingers 26 and 27 to aid in sheet separation and guidance; the fingers also include idler rollers 40a.
I would like to point out that it is listed in (Figure 4). Near the driven roller 40 is a second sensor 36 (FIG. 3) for shutting off the drive motor 31 and stopping the payout action.

In this embodiment, fingers 26 and 2 are used to drive roller 40 to feed sheet 30a through slot 50 and onto typewriter platen 12.
The rollers 40 on both lower sides of the driven gear 4
A shaft 41 extending laterally of the tray 21 to a gear 42 which is connected to a second driven gear 44 via a shaft 41
It is connected to the. The purpose of this second driven gear 44 will be explained in more detail later. Belt 43a is used to connect driven gear 43 to the typewriter platen. Further, the platen can be manually rotated to take out the sheet, or the platen can be automatically rotated by a motor 14 linked to the typewriter to move the sheet through the platen to a type start position or a printing position. , any other drive means can be used. It should be noted that in order to rotate roller 40, roller 40 may be coupled to platen 12 or other drive means by any convenient means, requiring only that the bottom paper sheet 3
0a through the slot 50 towards the platen. Alternatively, driven gear 42 may be coupled to gear 45 (see FIG. 1) on platen shaft 12a so that when the platen rotates, driven gear 42, and thus gears 43 and 44, also rotate. It can be done.

To remove the sheet from the platen, a second driven gear 44 is connected, such as by a shaft 45a (see FIGS. 2, 3, and 4) that also extends laterally of the tray 21; The shaft 45a is connected to a pair of spaced driven rollers 46 which serve to force the sheet against idler rollers 47 to remove the sheet from the platen and to place the printed sheet on top of the stack 30. There is.

Regarding the operation of the singler wheel 29 and its relationship with the sensors 35 and 36,
60-1252, fully explained. The time required for the singler wheel to move the bottom sheet away from the platen is measured, and the bottom sheet is moved away from the fingers 26 and 2.
It should be pointed out that the sheet feeder can be controlled by a simple timing device that reverses the direction of rotation of the motor with sufficient time to allow the downward movement of the sheet feeder.

Furthermore, simple electromechanical sensors such as microswitches with latch circuits can also be used to control the direction of rotation of the drive motor and its on/off operation.

According to the present invention, an operator can
The front support part 25 (fingers 26 and 27:
on the front support section 25 of the stack to prevent inadvertent errors such as sheets slipping under the fingers (which can cause paper jams) and not being placed correctly on the rear support section 24. Means are provided to ensure the placement of the For this purpose, a lift 90 with cutouts 91 and 92 corresponding to the fingers 26 and 27 is hingedly connected by a pivot shaft 90a to a support 90b on the shock mount 31a, so that the stack is connected to the rear support. It is adapted to initially support the bottom edge of the stack when placed on tray 21 on portion 24. The lift 90 is operated by actuator means, as will be explained in more detail below. In this embodiment, the actuator means is a cover 95 which must be lifted to rotate about a pivot axis 96 when the operator places a sheet onto the rear support portion 24 and lift 90 in the tray.

As best seen in FIGS. 2-4, the cover 95 is connected to a pivot shaft 96 such that rotation of the cover 95 causes the pivot shaft 96 to rotate.
It is also starting to rotate. Link device 97
, which is also connected to the pivot shaft 96 and includes a lever arm 105, a projecting stop 106 and a link 107, serves to rotate cams 98 and 99 (FIG. 3) which press against the lift 90. Cams 98 and 99 rotate about axis 108 to move wrist 90 between a first recessed position on the underside of fingers 26 and 27 and a second position above the finger surface. 27
Lift it above the surface. For this purpose, the front end 107a of the link 107 is connected to a pin 110 on a lever arm 110 connected to a pivot shaft 108.
It includes a working slot 107b. When cover 95 is rotated from the position shown in FIG. 4 in the direction of arrow 111, link 107 pushes on pin 110a, which engages slot 107b, thereby rotating lever arm 110 in a counterclockwise direction. , thereby causing shaft 108
Cams 98 and 99 mounted above rotate in a counterclockwise direction (with respect to FIG. 4), and their engagement with lift 90 raises lift 90 from the position shown in solid lines to the position shown in dashed lines. increase. Rotation of cover 95 is limited by projection 106 which engages pin 106a, which engagement is also shown in phantom in FIG. Furthermore, pin 10
6a and the lever 105 is a biasing means, ie, a spring 106, which acts to gently press the cover downward against the sheet stack 30.
b is provided. After the cover is lifted,
The seat stack has one end connected to the rear support section 2.
4 and the other end is placed on the lift 90. Rotation of the cover 95 in a counterclockwise direction about the pivot axis 106 returns the lift 90 to its initial position with the front end of the sheet stack 30 resting on the fingers 26, 27 and below the fingers. This prevents the sheet from sliding to the side.

Cover 95 fulfills the following three functions. (1) Acts as a weight against the sheet stack 30, pressing the sheet stack against the shingler wheel. (2) In cooperation with the idle roller 12a and the drive roller 46, it functions as a separator that separates the sheet stack 30 from the sheet fed from the platen 12 after printing is completed. (3) As explained above, it acts as an actuator means for raising and lowering the lift 90. The cover 95 is indicated by the arrow 111
It includes a hinge 95a in the center to allow the operator to fold the cover in its center to prevent it from rising too high when rotated in the direction. Furthermore, a cover covers a "last sheet" pad 95b for pressing the last sheet against the shingler wheel 29 and ensuring that it is fed when the stack is reduced to a single sheet. It is better to include it. A typical "final sheet" pad is shown in US Pat. No. 4,175,741. The final seat pad is hinge 95
As with a, it is preferable to place it on the underside of the cover so that it faces the singler wheel.

The shape of the cover is such that the printed sheet can be easily removed from the top. That is, as can be seen from FIG. 3, the sides 111 and 112 of the cover 95 are shortened at the center along the hinge, and the cover acts as a document separator, allowing the operator to place a printed sheet on the cover. I would like to point out that it can be easily grasped from the beginning.
Additionally, the cover has a notch 9 along its front end 95c.
1a and 92a, fingers 26 and 27
A gap is formed between the front end 95c of the cover and the front end 95c of the cover.
As shown, the cover also includes a finger slot 95d that allows the operator to pick up the cover and rotate it about pivot axis 96 when desired.

To accommodate sheets of different lengths, a sensor 35 as shown in FIG.
It is preferable to attach it to the slide 100 on top of 4. This slide 100 fits into the groove 101, 102,
103, etc., so that the operator can select the position of the first sensor 35 depending on the length of the paper. Naturally, with appropriate modifications, the tray walls can move laterally,
It is possible to accommodate sheets of various widths.

As best shown in FIG. 1, the sheet feeding device is preferably set at an angle relative to the typewriter to facilitate sheet feeding to platen 12. That is, for a particular typewriter, the tilt stand 10
4, the sheet feeder may be adjustably attached to the typewriter frame by conventional means such as self-tapping screws, nuts and bolts, or it may be constructed integrally with the frame from the beginning. You may. Further, with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4, a suitable space 28a through which the shingler wheel can protrude is provided.
The metal wire support grid 110 with the metal wire support grid 110 interposed therebetween is curved in a slightly convex shape. The grid 110 is provided on the tray and serves to deflect the sheet stack 30 in a desired direction. Also, by grounding the grid 110, static charges on the bottom sheet 30a of the sheet stack 30 can be dissipated.

Also, the lift 90 is an advantageous way to actively place the seat stack 30 on the finger or front support portion, but instead of the cams 98 and 99, which are equally spaced along the axis 108. Multiple cams may be used or the cams 98 and 99 may include a single lug that can be lifted to allow the seat stack to be actively placed on the front support portion 25. I would like to point out that.

As described above, the present invention provides a sheet feeding device for feeding sheets on the bottom surface, which is provided with a lift and an actuator means having a specific configuration in addition to the front support section, so that the sheet feeding device loaded by the operator can be loaded by the operator.
The stack can be placed correctly on the front support.

Although the invention has been described with some particularity, it will be understood that this description is by way of example only and that many changes may be made in construction details and combinations and arrangements of parts without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. can be added.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a typewriter incorporating a sheet feeding device constructed based on the present invention;
The figure is a partial side view of the sheet feeding device shown in FIG. 1, FIG. 3 is a plan view of the sheet feeding device shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, and FIG. 4 is a line 4-4 in FIG. 3. FIG. 21... Tray, 24... Rear support part, 25
...Front support part, 26 and 27...Finger, 29...Singler wheel, 31...DC motor, 90...Lift, 95...Cover.

Claims (1)

Claims: 1. A tray 21 having front supports 24, 26, 27 and a rear support 25 spaced from each other for supporting at least both ends of a sheet stack 30; At least one wheel 29 passes through the tray so as to contact the bottom sheet 30a of the stack and rotates the wheel in a direction in which the bottom sheet is disengaged from the front support; In a sheet feeding device comprising a driving means 31 for rotating the sheet in a direction opposite to the above-mentioned direction so as to send the sheet under the front support section, the sheet feeding device is movably provided adjacent to the front support section. a lift 90; a position above the front support such that the lift supports the front end 30b of the seat stack when loading the seat stack; - displacing the lift between a position when the stack is not loaded and a position below the front support such that the front support supports the front end of the sheet stack; A sheet feeding apparatus further comprising actuator means 95, 98, 99 for causing a sheet to move, thereby preventing a stack of sheets from being loaded below said front support in the sheet delivery position. 2. said actuator means includes a cover 95 movable between a first position covering said tray and a second position exposing said tray, said lift being moved in response to movement of said cover; A sheet feeding device according to claim 1, characterized in that: 3. The sheet feeding device according to claim 2, wherein the cover also has the function of supporting the processed sheet. 4. The sheet feeding device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the wheel is a singler wheel 29.